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One of my favorite things on social media this week, amidst a very challenging week, was the spotlight on African American creatives. Whether it was in fashion, music, art, design, or photography, it was the positive light in stream of some posts that weren’t always so. My favorite of the bunch and what I’m choosing to share on Yow Yow! today is this series by [Oghalé Alex] This series is for the fashion brand, [Cold Laundry,] where he’s actually the Director of Photography. However, I think this series is the calm that some of us needed to see this week. These images are stunning.

In many neighborhoods of the city, you can tell when everyone is still sleeping in these early mornings. Not San Francisco’s Chinatown though. On this particular day, I dragged Kevin to a pop-up at Mister Jiu’s called [Grand Opening] which serves pastries and a couple entrees only once a month. This has been on my to-do-list for awhile and that Saturday I was ready to put my plan into execution. I completely forgot that it was also the morning of the parade and that parking would be limited. Frustrated and hangry, I’m relived that I instructed Kevin to show up 30 minutes before me so that we could snag a spot in line. I like to think that Kevin and I are those people that really enjoy waiting in line for limited edition things.

Ahead of the day they open, their Instagram account always shares a preview of what they’ll be offering. It’s enough to get you excited about the one item and curious about the rest. That day we picked up nearly one of each so that we could sample a bit of everything. Technically, we left this for our dessert because right after we picked up our box, we headed straight for dim sum.

It’s unclear when Grand Opening will resume again as restaurants themselves have to decide their own re-opening. This was one of the last photos I took before I left for Thailand and before shelter-in-place started. As the country begins to re-open, I’m left wondering how an event like this will shape the future and if we’ll ever return to life the way it was pre-covid.

John Splithoff – Past Times

It’s official! We’ve made it to summer. It’s the end of the month so like clockwork, we always write one of these posts. It has been many many days at home and we’ve reached the point where I have caved. I made my first online shopping purchase just a couple of weeks ago to allow myself to have more flexibility in my rotation of leggings. It’s not lost on me that if I continue to shop more that I still won’t have a place to where these new pieces out to. However, with that thinking in mind, the leggings seem like they will serve a good purpose. Whether you’re shopping right now or not, may these pieces below provide you with some inspiration for whenever you’re ready.

I want to do my best to keep this brief. For the first time this week, COVID-19 was the last thing on my mind. This week’s incident resulting in the death of George Floyd is devastating. And having to already deal with a pandemic and feeling like we are rolling backwards from the progress we’ve made on racism in this country is exhausting for everyone. Every time one of these deaths occurs, I find myself struggling with words. I know even after this post gets published, I’m going to go back and forth on it wishing I had said something differently or more.

There are many ways for Asian Americans to stand with African Americans as allies. I’m sure all of you are seeing these resources within your social media accounts right now. I urge you to take the time and read through each one. This is important and doesn’t warrant you skipping by it. Because I have this platform, it doesn’t feel right to not address it. It’s not business as usual; nothing about 2020 is normal. To not acknowledge what is going on in this country as a problem would signal that it doesn’t impact me.

I cannot speak for everyone and I recognize that not everyone is as comfortable with social media as I am. There are two points I want to say here: if you yourself are not a social media regular and don’t feel comfortable posting anything regarding the matter, that is okay. Know that there are other ways to become involved and informed and you can do this behind the scenes. Secondly, sharing related posts on social media and flooding your stories doesn’t do any good if you yourself are not taking action. What you are doing is spreading awareness, but take it a step further. Make those shares count for something.

This is actually a graphic designed by the [MTA] On another note, as of today, Mayor London Breed has announced that face coverings will now be required in San Francisco when outside the home and within 30 feet of people. And honestly, thank goodness because it’s not even that hard to be wearing a face mask when you’re walking yet people can’t seem to do it here anyways.

How crazy is it that we are going to end 2020 without a spring/summer music festival season? Primavera Sound is getting a head start on releasing next year’s lineup. On the other hand, Coachella realized they were too optimistic by pushing their festival out to October when they likely will have to wait until 2021 as well. Many of my friends have commented that one of the hardest parts about quarantine is missing out on live music and shows. This was also the year that I was planning on returning home for Capitol Hill Block Party. The only positive upside to this is that I’m not missing anything.